With the near year come new resolutions. For many people, among those at the top of the list is getting a new job.

For human resources leaders, the resolutions may be to get more creative to find new talent, and to retain and grow the existing talent. This challenge is even greater when you are attracting a new generation of workforce.

By 2015, millennials will make up 36% of the American workforce. They are more mobile than previous generations; they want greater choice on how and where they work. They feel comfortable with technology and they’re used to being connected and collaborating all the time.

Video conferencing is one of the best technologies HR can use right away to attract, retain, and develop millennial employees. Once seen as a nice-to-have, video conferencing for business use has come a long way. It’s no longer just a big, expensive system in a large conference room where you need IT’s help to get it to work, nor is it relegating to consumer-grade video chat, bypassing IT. For businesses that use the right video conferencing solution as part of their overall communication tools, they see an immediate business impact.

Today, we’re featuring a guest post from Eric Schoch, senior director for hosted collaboration in Cisco’s Collaboration organization. Eric is responsible for hosted and “as a service” solutions, strategic pricing and licensing, and business development.

There is simply no denying the increasing importance of being connected. Generation Y in particular, who grew up with mobile devices affixed almost permanently to their hands, views connectivity as one of life’s fundamental resources.

The newest addition to the workforce considers their mobile devices as an essential workplace tool to managing their workload and connecting with their colleagues on the go. While sitting in a meeting or having lunch in the break room, you can almost visualize the text bubbles hovering over crowds of this generation of workers as fingers hammer away at phones and tablets, eyes glued to the shiny screens in their hands. BYOD

But this trend goes far beyond lunch hours and happy hours. As proven by Chapter Two of the 2011 Cisco Connected World Technology Report, the next-generation workforce is demanding flexibility in their choice of devices in both the workplace and remote-work options, illustrating the importance of the Internet in workforce culture. Social media freedom, device flexibility, and work mobility, in the case of 30% of the study’s respondents, are more important when accepting a job than a higher salary.

At Cisco we recognize that successful telework programs include technology as well as policy and people! When I speak of “policy” I am referring to mandates at state, local, provincial and/or federal levels; as well as any internal organizational policies and procedures to ensure delivery of agency mission. But what about the ‘people’ – your workforce? I read a lot about policy and trends happening around the globe – focus on GhG emissions, continuity of government, energy and real estate reductions, information assurance, etc… but hear little of “the workforce” and the acknowledgement that “work is what we do, not a place.”

Critical to the success of any telework program I would suggest are the ‘people.’ We are what makes any good strategy succeed! If you agree with my thinking, then you may find a recent paper authored by WorldatWork, “Telework: Considerations for an Effective Program,” may help your assessment on workforce eligibility… and help contribute to program success as it focuses on the user of telework, we the people. Here is a sampling of few questions you may take into consideration when determining eligibility of telework… Does the job lend itself t o a telework environment? Does the employee who is requesting the arrangement demonstrate a strong work ethic and does he/she continuously meet his/her work deadlines? More…

As you execute your plan and move from “the evaluation phase” to “training and launch phase” Cisco Collaboration/Video Solutions for Government like Webex and video are very effective training and communication tools to help facilitate your telework program training plans. These secure, collaborative tools can meet the requirements of the entire workforce including employee, middle management, IT and facility organization, as well as help avoid unnecessary travel and expenses too!

“Every organization needs employees who mesh with its core values — the principles that define who you are as an organization and that shape day-to-day business decisions. Employees who do not adhere to a shared corporate culture dilute it, detracting from the essence that gives your company its identity and helps it achieve aggressive goals.” – Harvard Business Review (HBR) Read More »

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